Section 40 First Return and Section 48 GST Practitioners

Section 40 First Return explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

Two short provisions that bracket the returns chapter — one dealing with the period before a registration existed, the other with who may file for you.

Section 40: every registered person who has made outward supplies in the period between the date on which he became liable to registration till the date on which registration has been granted shall declare the same in the first return furnished by him after grant of registration. Section 48: the manner of approval of goods and services tax practitioners, their eligibility conditions, duties and obligations, manner of removal, and other conditions relevant for their functioning shall be such as may be prescribed — but "the responsibility for correctness of any particulars furnished in the return or other details filed by the goods and services tax practitioners shall continue to rest with the registered person on whose behalf such return and details are furnished."

Section 40: the pre-registration gap

Registration is effective from the date of liability where the application was made within thirty days. The certificate arrives later. Supplies made in between are supplies by a registered person, made before there was a GSTIN to put on the invoice.

Two provisions handle it together:

Section 31(3)(a) — revised invoices may be issued for that period, within one month of the certificate. Rule 53: revised invoices →

Section 40 — those supplies are declared in the first return furnished after the grant of registration.

So the revised invoices document the supplies, and the first return reports them.

Where else section 40 applies

Rule 21A(5): where an order revoking a suspension of registration is passed, the provisions of s.31(3)(a) and s.40 apply to supplies made during the suspension period.

So the same pair of mechanisms — revised invoices plus a first return — regularises a suspension period. Rule 21A: suspension →

Note what section 40 does not do. It does not create a separate return form. The "first return" is the ordinary GSTR-3B for the first period, with the pre-certificate supplies included in it.

Section 48: who may act as a practitioner

Rule 83 prescribes the framework:

Eligibility — a citizen of India, of sound mind, not adjudged insolvent, not convicted of an offence with imprisonment of two years or more, and satisfying one of the specified qualifications: a retired officer of the Commercial Tax Department of a State or the CBIC who worked in a post not lower than Group-B gazetted officer for at least two years; an enrolled sales tax practitioner or tax return preparer under an existing law for at least five years; or a graduate or postgraduate degree in Commerce, Law, Banking including Higher Auditing, or Business Administration or Business Management, or an equivalent, or a degree from a foreign university recognised as equivalent, or any other notified examination, or a chartered accountant, cost accountant or company secretary holding a certificate of practice.

Enrolment — application in FORM GST PCT-01, certificate in FORM GST PCT-02.

Examination — a person enrolled on the basis of the sales tax practitioner or tax return preparer route must pass the examination within the prescribed period.

Disqualification — a show cause notice in FORM GST PCT-03 and an order in FORM GST PCT-04 where the practitioner is found guilty of misconduct.

What a practitioner may do

Rule 83(8) lists the activities a practitioner may undertake on behalf of a registered person:

• furnish the details of outward and inward supplies;
• furnish monthly, quarterly, annual or final return;
• make deposit for credit into the electronic cash ledger;
• file a claim for refund, after confirmation from the registered person;
• file an application for amendment or cancellation of registration, after confirmation from the registered person;
• furnish information for generation of e-way bill;
• furnish details of challan in FORM GST ITC-04;
• file an application for amendment or cancellation of enrolment under Rule 58;
• file an intimation to pay tax under the composition scheme or withdraw from it.

Note the pattern: refund claims and registration amendments require the registered person's confirmation. The others do not.

Rule 83(9) — where a statement is furnished by a practitioner, a confirmation shall be sought from the registered person over email or SMS, and the statement shall be made available to him on the common portal. Where he does not respond by the last date for furnishing the statement, it shall be deemed that he has validated it.

The responsibility clause

Section 48(3) is the provision that matters most:

"...the responsibility for correctness of any particulars furnished in the return or other details filed by the goods and services tax practitioners shall continue to rest with the registered person on whose behalf such return and details are furnished."

There is no delegation of liability. A wrong return filed by a practitioner is the taxpayer's wrong return, for interest, penalty and prosecution purposes alike.

Section 116 separately governs appearance by an authorised representative in proceedings, which is a different capacity from filing returns.

Key takeaways

• s.40: supplies made between the date of liability and the grant of registration are declared in the first return.
• Documented by revised invoices under s.31(3)(a).
• The same pair regularises supplies made during a suspension, under Rule 21A(5).
• s.48 and Rule 83 govern practitioners — enrolment in PCT-01, certificate in PCT-02.
• Refund claims and registration amendments require the registered person's confirmation.
• s.48(3): responsibility for correctness always rests with the registered person.

Read next

• Rule 53: Revised Invoices for the Pre-Registration Period
• Rule 21A: Suspension of Registration
• Section 48 CGST Act: Goods and Services Tax Practitioners
• Section 40 CGST Act: First Return

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act and Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition).